🌳 Amazon deforestation lowest in 13 years

🌳 Amazon deforestation lowest in 13 years

Deforestation fell 36 percent from the previous year and was 55.6 percent below the average of the past ten years. That is according to new satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, INPE. The decline has continued since 2023.

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  • Deforestation fell 36 percent from the previous year and was 55.6 percent below the average of the past ten years.
  • If the figures are confirmed by Brazil's official monitoring system, it will be the lowest deforestation since measurements began in 1988.
  • Deforestation also fell in the Cerrado, Caatinga, Atlantic Forest and Pampa.

1,110 square miles in one year

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years. That is according to new satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, INPE. The decline has continued since 2023.

INPE's alert system DETER recorded 1,110 square miles of deforestation in the Amazon between August 1, 2025 and July 31, 2026. That is 36 percent less than during the previous twelve months. It is also 55.6 percent below the average for the ten years before that.

The figure is the lowest since the current DETER system was introduced in 2015. Including data from the earlier system, alerts were last lower in the 2012/13 deforestation year, when 1,068 square miles were recorded.

Could be the lowest since 1988

DETER is built for rapid response. The system uses satellite images to detect new forest clearing quickly enough for authorities to investigate and intervene. Brazil's official deforestation figures instead come from PRODES, a higher-resolution system that measures once a year. Preliminary PRODES figures for the year ending July 31 are expected in October or November.

PRODES data for the year ending July 2025 already showed the lowest forest loss in the Amazon in eleven years. The new DETER figures indicate that clearing fell further during the following year. If PRODES shows a similar decline, Brazil could record its lowest official Amazon deforestation since the monitoring series began in 1988.

Independent monitoring points in the same direction. The Brazilian nonprofit Imazon runs its own satellite-based alert system and has also reported declining clearing in recent years.

Tougher enforcement under Lula

The decline has coincided with stronger environmental enforcement under Lula. The government has increased the number of enforcement operations, strengthened monitoring, resumed efforts to protect Indigenous territories and reached agreements with municipalities where deforestation is concentrated. Brazil has pledged to end all illegal deforestation by 2030.

Declines in other biomes as well

Alerts also fell in the Cerrado, a tropical savanna where large areas have been converted to farmland. DETER recorded 1,976 square miles of alerts during the latest period. That is 7.8 percent less than the year before and the lowest figure in five years.

INPE also presented consolidated PRODES data for three other biomes, covering August 2024 to July 2025. Deforestation fell 34.3 percent in the Caatinga, to 884 square miles. In the Atlantic Forest it fell 15.3 percent, to 155 square miles. In the Pampa it fell 41.7 percent, to 118 square miles.

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